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Stallions rally (twice) to sweep the Jr Spartans
2024-05-27

Eventually, the Sudbury U16 Jr Spartans would pay a price for the missed opportunities of the opening half.

Up 11-0 at the break in a contest that should have been much more safely in hand - Jude St. Michael-Leblanc returned the opening kickoff the distance and the visitors turned the ball over no less than six times - the Spartans would relinquish the lead in the final few minutes, beaten 15-14 by the Huronia Stallions.

"In the first half, we had plenty of short fields and wecome up with a field goal and a rouge," lamented Sudbury head coach Jordan Desilets. "If we're scoring six on a couple of those drives, we're not talking about a 15-14 game right now."

Sudbury kicker Colton Cooke delivered the point after the opening major but then proceded the account for all remaining scoring for his team with a pair of field goals and a single.

Noah Buckindale would get Huronia on the board with a third quarter major but it was some costly penalties late in the fourth that proved to be the demise of the home squad as Michael Wallin rambled into the end zone from close range after Sudbury had been flagged on a 25 yard penalty infraction.

Place kicker Rodrigo Rivas made good on both converts and punter Jake Lavers sailed the ball through the end zone after the Spartans defense came through with a pair of stops following a first and goal opportunity with just over a minute to play.

Coming on the heels of a 16-8 opening game loss to the Sault Sabercats, this setback highlighted at least a couple of areas where improvement is needed if the locals are to make a serious push at post-season play.

"We need to sustain some drives," said Desilets. "I think our philosophy of not turning the ball over and giving (opposing) teams a short field, this plays to our advantage."

That said, the highly grounded young coach was not about to throw the baby out with the bath water.

"Playing two of the top four teams in the league from last year, we knew that it was going to be a tough road to start," said Desilets. "I don't think we need to re-invent the wheel. A couple of bounces go the other way and we're 2-0 instead of 0-2."

"We're in a bit of a hole and it's tough the rest of the way, but we're a good football team," he added. "I think we're okay, moving forward."

In terms of individual play, Desilets addressed a couple of key contributors on both sides of the ball. "Colton Savage is going to be a problem (for most teams) at middle linebacker. He's probably close to 40 tackles through two games."

"And Levi Blouin is really impressing me," added Desilets, who also praised the work of veteran defensive back Niki Sola. "As a grade 8 student coming into a U16 football team, he (Blouin) is running the ball with authority."

The U16 Jr Spartans are on the road next Saturday, looking to break into the win column when they meet up with the York Lions.

Like their older club brethren, the Sudbury U18 Jr Spartans enjoyed a half-time lead over the Huronia Stallions Saturday at the James Jerome Sports Complex.

Unlike their older club brethren, the U18 crew were not able to sustain that advantage much into the second half at all.

Up 17-13 at the break, the Jr Spartans would fall victim to a second half rally from the Stallions as Huronia bounced Sudbury 35-20, also dropping the locals to 0-2 following a 21-20 setback at the hands of the Toronto Jr Argos one week earlier.

Braedan Beggs and Carter Sagle accounted for the Sudbury majors with Paolo Grossi adding a pair of field goals and two conversions, not nearly enough to slow down a Stallions side which received majors from five diffent players.

The Sudbury U18 Jr Spartans will join the U16 squad at St Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School on Saturday, also due to face the York Lions.

Palladino Subaru